Winner of top photomicrography prize is ...

Updated 2:02 PM ET, Wed October 19, 2016

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Photos:Winner of top photomicrography prize is ...

1st Place:Dr. Oscar Ruiz -- A photo of a four-day-old zebrafish embryo claimed top honors in the annual Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition. Image produced at the University of Texas' Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

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Photos:Winner of top photomicrography prize is ...

2nd Place:Douglas L. Moore -- This polished slab of Teepee Canyon agate scooped the coveted second spot in this year's awards. The image was captured by Moore at theUniversity of Wisconsin at the Stevens Point Museum of Natural History in Wisconsin, US.

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Photos:Winner of top photomicrography prize is ...

3rd Place:Rebecca Nutbrown -- A culture of neurons (stained green) derived from human skin cells, and Schwann cells, a second type of brain cell (stained red). Photo taken at the University of Oxford, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Oxford, United Kingdom.

5th Place:Dr. Igor Siwanowicz -- No stranger to the Nikon Small World contest, Igor Siwanowicz -- who took third place in 2015 -- has been recognized again this year for a photo of a front foot (tarsus) of a male diving beetle. The photo was taken at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia, US.

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Photos:Winner of top photomicrography prize is ...

6th Place:Marek Mis -- Another regular prize winner in the Nixon Small World contest, Marek Mis nabbed the sixth spot for this photo of air bubbles formed from melted ascorbic acid crystals. It was captured using a polarized light technique in the town of Suwalki in Poland.

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Photos:Winner of top photomicrography prize is ...

7th Place:Dr. David Maitland -- Improving upon last year's showing -- when he was awarded 17th place -- David Maitland, a nature photographer, took this image of leaves of selaginella (lesser club moss) in Feltwell, United Kingdom.